Improvement in the manufacture of iron and steel



hlniterl sine,

strut (Militia.

Letters Patent N 93,155, dated July 27,1869.

IMPROVEMENT In THE. MANUFACTURE or mom Ann s-man.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern v Be it kilown that I, JAMES J. .lonss'rox,of the city and county of Allegheny, and State of 'lennsylvania, haveinvented. a new and useful Improvement in the Manufacture of Iron andSteel; and'l doliereby declare that the following is a full,.elear, andexact descriptionthereot'.

The introduction and use ofstone-coal, coke, and hotblast, in thereduction of iron-ore to the metallic state, has occasioned much hadpig-iron, known to the'trade as red-short, cold-short, and rotten-short,and this condition of the art being'common and extensive, has produced ageneral desire among manuihcturels of iron and steeli'or some sure,easy, and economical means for removing the impurities in the pig-metalprior to translhrring it to the puddling or heating-furnace, and at thesame time to lessen the time, labor,- and cost of manufacturing it intoa good article of wrought-iron or steel.

To accomplish the removal of the impurities in the pig-metal,manufacturers ot'u'rOught-iron and steel have had recourse to thebloomery-fires, finely-fires, and forge-fires, in all their varieties.Thcy'have also resorted to the use of the Catalan forge, German forge,\Volfs oven, blue oven, crucibles, and

furnaces in all their varieties. They have also resorted to thepnddliug, hoiling,'and granulating-proccsses, to the use of fluxes andphysio, consisting of metallic oxides, earths, alkaline, saline, andcarbonaceous matter in different quantities, and variously combined andcompounded. They have also had recourse to gases, acids, water, steam,and air, using them separately and combined, and applied in almost everyconceivable manner; but all these agencies have failed to produce thedesired result, viz, the purifying and refining of the various kinds ofpig-metal, and facilitating and lessening the cost of manufacturing itinto a good article of wrought-iron or steel, to thatdegree desired bythe manufacturer.

' Now, the object of my improvement inth'e manufacture of wrought-ironand steel, is providing an easy, cheap, and desirable means for thepurifying and refining of all kinds of pig-metal, however and wherevermade, and at the same time to fiicilitate'and lessen the cost ofmanufacturing it into a superior article of wrought-iron or'stcel.

- The nature of my invention consists in bringing melted metal directfrom iron-ore, or pig-metal remclted into its mostflnid condition, andthen purifying and refining it by mixing with it a metallic oxide, andthen forming it into plates or bars of wrought-iron, by pouring themolten metal thus purified and refined, and while still in a fluidcondition, into moulds formed of a metallic oxide, or moulds coated witha metallic oxide.

'lo enable others skilled in the art to make and use or othervessel,which has been coated with a pasty material formed by mixing veryfinely-pulverized ironore and water together, and this coating on theshank, ladle,- or vessel, thoroughly dried before the molten iron is'ruuinto it, and then mixing into and among the molten metal, the pulverizediron-ore, mixin gfrom eight to twelve pounds of the pulverized ore withabout one'hundred' pounds of the molten cast-iron, taking care to mixthoroughly together the molten iron and pulverized ore, so that theparticles of each will come in contact with each other, which mixing maybe per-' formed by the use of a suitable tool, by,prefereuce made of aflat bar of iron. The lower end of the mixing-tool should be coated witha' pasty material formed of the finely-pulverized iron-ore and water,and the coating on the tool should be thoroughly dried'before using it.

The pulverized ore may be mixed into and among the molten iron while,in' the furnace, byhaving the furnace suitably constructed for thatpurpose, and by the use of a suitable mixing-tool.

The construction of' the furnace and mixing-tool .i'

leave to those skilled'in the art.

The pulverized iron-ore should be heated to about 150 Fahrenheit priorto mixing it intoand with the molten iron. g

After the pulverized iron-ore and molten iron have been-mixed together,in the manner and by the means hereinbefore described, the mixedandfluid mass is poured into moulds formed of finely-pulverized ironore,which-has been so crushedand pulverized that it will, pass through aNo.16 sieve. The crushed and pulverized ore should be moistened, andtempered with water,- in the manner practised by""iron-mouldcrs fortemperin and preparing moulding-sand.

Alter t to pulverized ore has thus been prepared, I take a suitableflask,aud patterns of the form of the plates or barsdesired. With thisflask and pattern form moulds, in and by any of the known meanspractised by iron-moulders in the foundry; or, I take metalliclllOlIldS, of suitable size and form for making the desired plates andbars, and coat the moulds with a pasty. material, consisting offinely-pulverized ore and water. The metallic moulds, aftcr'beingcoated, should be thoroughly dried before pouring into them the fluidthickness for the plates answers best for making a supcrio' articleofwrought-iron, and that one inch in diameter is a good size for thebars; but the plates may be made from one to three inches thick, andfrom five .to ten inches wide, and from one to three feet long; and thebars may be made from one to three inches in diameter, and from one tothree feet long; and, in every case, a most excellent article of pureand fibrous iron made therefrom.

After the hereiiibefore-described purified, refined, and fluid metal hasbeen poured into the moulds, and it has become sntlieiently congealed,the'plates or bars are then removed from the moulds, and, after beingexposed to the action of the atmosphere until they become cold, they arethen, in suitable quantities, placed in a puddliny; orheating-ii1rnace,and properly-heated, and worked into balls or piles,which are then hammered, or squeezed and rolled, or otherwise worked andmanipulated, in any known manner, for making it or them into any desiredform of merchantablo iron or steel.

The melted cast-iron may be treated with any suitable physio, prior tomixing the pulverized iron-ore into and with the fluid metal, and othermetallic oxides, alkaline,-saline, and carbonaceous matter, may, inlimited quantities, be mixed and compoundedwith the pulverized iron-ore,prior to mixing it with the'fiuid cast-iron, for purifying and refiningit. The operator must always be careful to have the molten cast-iron inits most fluid condition, prior to mixing the pulverized ore into andamong it. Otherwise, the operation of purifying and-refining it, andpouring it into the moulds, will be imperteetly done.

The operator should always take care to skim the fluid mass, prior to orduring the time it is being poured into the moulds. The manner ofhandling and manipulating the moulds, during 'the filling andpoi1ringprocess, I'leave to the judgment and skill ot the operator ormanufacturer.

I wish it clearly understood that ani aware that pulverized ironore, andpulverized iron-ore mixed with other ingredients, have been mixed withmolten castiron, in the peddling-furnace, and in other ways therefore, Ido not claim, broadly, mixing pulverized ore with molten cast-ironr I amalso-aware cast-iron has been run into moulds made in beds of pulverizedore; therefore, I do not claim, broadly, running molten iron intomonldsforrned of the oxide of iron; but this mixing of the pulverizedore with the molten iron, and the running of the cast iron into moulds,has been done under other COLIdir tions, and with very differentresults.

The novelty of my process consists in bringing cast iron into its mostlluid condition, and then purifying and refining it, by mixing, with itsolid oxides, pulverized, and then pouring the purified and refinedmetal, while still in a melted condition, into moulds, prepared ashereinbefore described, and thereby producing an article ofwrought-iron, by my process, which is superior in quality to thatobtained in the ordinary way.

Having thus described my improvement,

\Vhat I claim as of my invention, is-

1. As a new article of manufacture, plates or bars of wrought-iron,produced by bringing cast-iron into its most fluid condition, and thenpurifying and refining it, by mixing with it a metallic oxide, and thenpouring it, while fluid, into moulds, ashereinbelb're described.

2. The production of wron dit-irou fi'oin east-iron, by mixing with thelatter, wlnle in a fluid condition, a sufficient amount of oxides topurity and refine it, and-then pouring the purified and refined metalinto moulds, as her *inbefore described,

3. The employment of detersive agents, byvmixing them with pulverizediron-ore,-to be used in the process hereinbefin'e described, for theproduction of wrought-iron.

' 4. The employment, in the process hereinbetbrc described, of metallicmoulds, coated with a pasty material, consisting of pulverized iron-oreand water;

JAMES J. JOHNSTON.

Witnesses:

J onx Locum, Jxo. D. l' n'r'reu.

